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Popular science books to put on your Christmas list

Drawing from the CultureLab library, we pick the most desirable of this year's popular science titles

1

Retired palaeontologist Richard Fortey meanders into and out of deep time, chasing the species that have evaded extinction, and drawing on a career’s worth of fascinating anecdotes.

2

In this impeccably researched book Richard Panek explores why we still don’t know the nature of dark matter and dark energy, even though they make up 96 per cent of the universe.

3

The Fundamental Fysiks Group was an entourage of freewheeling physicists in Berkeley, California, who pushed the boundaries of “experimental” science in the 1970s.

4

A superb comic book that tells the story of evolution on Earth from the perspective of aliens from the planet Glargal.

5

This insider’s guide unveils – and explains -the hard and complicated work being done at the frontier of particle physics. The effect is like being taken behind the curtain in Oz and given a full tour by the wizard.

6

Astronomer Bob Berman is a masterful storyteller who spins the tale of our favourite star with a deft touch and leaves you desperate to see the Northern Lights for yourself.

7

Theoretical physicist Brian Greene makes abstract ideas about the multiverse both engaging and implausibly comprehensible.

8

A complex tale, 1493 makes for compulsive reading because it illustrates the paradoxical nature of the ecological effects linking the world.

9

Gorgeous batik illustrations inspired by satellite and aerial photographs turn global catastrophes into works of art in this book on climate change basics.

10

This gorgeously illustrated book tours chronologically through the major moments in the history of physics from the big bang to the “big rip” – a possible scenario for the end of the universe.

11

Psychologist Richard Wiseman demonstrates with wit and humour why so-called supernatural events are far less extraordinary than the complex inner workings of our brains.

12

Part scary exposition of how we’ve screwed things up, and part optimistic take on how we can undo that harm, this is a wonderful exploration of the intricate superorganism that is humankind.

13

Everything you ever wanted to know about the science of flying – from the terrible taste of tepid in-flight tea to how we manage to defy gravity in a pressurised aluminium cylinder.

14

This six-volume collection combines elegant design, informative cartoons and excellent explanation of science and mathematics.

Survivors

Richard Fortey

Harper Press

The 4% Universe

Richard Panek

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

How the Hippies Saved Physics

David Kaiser

W.W. Norton

Evolution

Jay Hosler

illustrated by Kevin Cannon and Zander Cannon

Knocking on Heaven’s Door

Lisa Randall

Bodley Head/Ecco Press

The Sun’s Heartbeat

Bob Berman

Little, Brown & Co

The Hidden Reality

Brian Greene

Allen Lane/Alfred A. Knopf

1493

Charles C. Mann

Knopf/Granta

Global Climate Change: A primer

Orrin H. Pilkey and Keith C. Pilkey

illustrations by Mary Edna Fraser, Duke University Press

The Physics Book

Clifford A. Pickover

Sterling

Paranormality

Richard Wiseman

Macmillan

Here on Earth

Tim Flannery

Allen Lane/Atlantic Monthly Press

Inflight Science

Brian Clegg

Icon Books

Sciencia

Wooden Books

Walker & Company

Topics: Books and art

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